Eastern façade decoration at 10 Ogarna Street

Object: One of two historicising façades covering a residential block constructed as part of Gdańsk’s post-war reconstruction. In 2013, the façade underwent a complete renovation as part of the ‘Gdańskie Fasady OdNowa’ project, aimed at improving the quality of public spaces in the Main Town by adding architectural decorations to buildings that had been overlooked during Gdańsk’s reconstruction.

The decoration of the two-bay eastern façade consists of window frames and an under-eaves frieze made of fibre-reinforced concrete. The frieze features a simple ornament composed of multi-level geometric forms.

Location: The buildings are in an area designated as a heritage site. They form part of the historic urban layout of the city of Gdańsk. Ogarna Street was destroyed in 1945 during the war. It was rebuilt on the basis of the so-called Zachwatowicz plan that envisaged the reconstruction of historical forms, which was only feasible in the form of a workers’ housing estate. The erected block of flats was covered by a historicist façade screen. The buildings thus created were the result of combining two houses into a complex with a common staircase, an entrance from the courtyard and an even top line of windows emphasising the block-like nature of the premise. The elevations were not completed with architectural decoration.

Information about the author: Maciej Pakalski is a graduate of the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He completed his degree with honours in 2010 in the Studio of Visual Structures under the supervision of Prof. Jacek Dyrzyński and in the Painting Studio led by Prof. Krzysztof Wachowiak, with an additional project in the Studio of Wall Painting Technology and Technique supervised by Prof. Edward Tarkowski. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: ‘Attyka’ real estate management

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush